The scoreboard is where games are officially won and lost, but they are largely decided by the team that wins the battles of yards per pass, yards per carry, penalty yards lost, first downs, and turnovers. For this reason, I created the following formula called the ?Trench Counter? to look at which team truly controls the game: (2x Yards per pass) + (2x Yards per carry) + (.5 First downs) - (Penalty yards/10) - (2.5 Turnovers) - (Opposing Team's Trench Counter) Click here for more information on the Trench Counter For the 2009 season, our weekly team rankings will be based solely off this formula. 1. New Orleans Saints: 10.8 Jonathan Vilma's fourth quarter interception of Chris Redman and then his 4th down tackle helped the Saints preserve a 26-23 win in Atlanta. 2. Indianapolis Colts: 10.5 Even though Brandon Marshall logged a remarkable/record-setting 21 receptions against the Colts, the secondary quickly wrapped him up each time, keeping him to fewer than 10 yards per catch. It is a formula they have followed all season, regardless of the quality of the receiver and it has allowed them to maintain an effective pass defense despite missing Bob Sanders. 3. Green Bay Packers: 10.1 Dom Capers featured a 'Psycho' package against Chicago, which lines up one down lineman and five linebackers, creating uncertainty for the offensive line of who will be rushing the quarterback. Green Bay will likely continue to use it in certain 3rd down situations. 4. Minnesota Vikings: 8.2 As much of an undeniable impact Percy Harvin has made for Minnesota, Phil Loadholt has had an excellent rookie season at right tackle. 5. San Diego Chargers: 7.2 Over their previous four games, the Chargers have a +16.7 Trench Counter, which is easily the best in the NFL ahead of Minnesota's 12.2 and Green Bay's 9.4. 6. New England Patriots: 6.9 The post-2007 Patriots continue to struggle against the better team while remaining businesslike against weaker teams like Carolina, who apparently couldn't defeat Bill Belichick's team despite their claims of a receiver quitting. 7. Pittsburgh Steelers: 6.7 The Steelers and Packers are the two teams that the Trench Counter has liked more than it should this season and in order to sneak into the playoffs, they will have to run the table against three contenders in Green Bay, Baltimore and Miami. 8. Philadelphia Eagles: 5.3 DeSean Jackson, like Harvin, isn't a prototypical big receiver but they have almost completely changed the complexion of their respective teams. Jackson has caught 50 balls for 947 yards and nine TDs. 9. Dallas Cowboys: 4.6 The Dallas defense held San Diego to just 20 points, which was a season low for that potent Philip Rivers-led offense. 10. Baltimore Ravens: 4.4 The Ravens would be a dangerous team again in the playoffs this year if they can reach them, which will be difficult if they continue alternating victories and losses as they have over the past seven weeks. 11. Denver Broncos: 4.1 Eddie Royal's sophomore season, at least as a receiver, has been nothing if not disappointing, but he gets another shot at the Raiders this weekend. Royal had nine catches for 146 yards in his first NFL game last season. 12. New York Giants: 2.8 The staple of the Giants' defense has been to get pressure on the quarterback and that is something that has simply not been happening for Bill Sheridan's unit. 13. New York Jets: 2.8 Giving Kellen Clemens a lot of room, the Jets held the Buccaneers to just 124 yards of offense. 14. Cincinnati Bengals: 2.7 There are a lot of 7-6 and 6-7 teams ahead of the Bengals on this ranking, but Marvin Lewis' team is averaging a point differential of just 3.6 this season, which ranks them fifth in the AFC and 11th overall. 15. San Francisco 49ers: 1.5 The 49ers need to schedule more night home games, as they average six takeaways in those two games against Chicago and Arizona. 16. Washington Redskins: 1.1 Coming off a convincing win against the Raiders, the Redskins are now also clear of any wrongdoing about tampering before signing Albert Haynesworth. 17. Jacksonville Jaguars: 1.1 The Jaguars are still in the driver's seat for the AFC Wildcard due to its superior conference record as opposed to Miami, Baltimore and the Jets. 18. Houston Texans: 0.8 It is for a receiver to log 193 yards with two TDs and be overshadowed, but Andre Johnson was by the day Marshall had in Indianapolis. 19. Arizona Cardinals: 0.2 Seven turnovers, no division-clinching win, plus an injury to Larry Fitzgerald for Arizona on Monday night became one of the biggest disasters in San Francisco since Paul Newman opened up the Glass Tower in 'The Towering Inferno.' 20. Tennessee Titans: -1.1 Chris Johnson is on pace to rush for more than 2,000 yards, which would make him the sixth running back to reach that otherworldly strata. 21. Miami Dolphins: -1.4 As the Dolphins continue to struggle to score points and move the ball with Ronnie Brown finished for the season, their linebacker core is getting healthier and more productive. 22. Atlanta Falcons: -1.7 The Falcons are still mathematically in the playoff picture, but the injuries to Matt Ryan and Michael Turner have almost completely derailed their season. 23. Buffalo Bills: -1.9 Rookie Jarius Byrd has an NFL best nine interceptions and only George Wilson prevented him from getting his 10th. Buffalo has just 10 total interceptions during the 2008 season. 24. Seattle Seahawks: -3.2 Jake Locker would have probably been off the board by the time Seattle was ready to pick this April, but maybe the stars will align for the local boy to take over for Matt Hasselbeck in 2011. 25. Carolina Panthers: -3.6 Though he has caught flak for the Moss comments, Chris Gamble has three interceptions in three games. The Carolina defense has been the undeniable strength of this team in a disappointing season. 26. Chicago Bears: -4.5 Jay Cutler now has 22 interceptions this season, which is the most by a Chicago QB since 1962 when Bill Wade had 24. 27. Kansas City Chiefs: -7.7 While Cutler has the Chicago spotlight to contend with, fellow big offseason acquisition Matt Cassel has been a whole lot worse, with a 68.3 QB rating. 28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -9.9 Josh Freeman had a 12.1 passer rating against the Jets one week after posting a 36.5 rating against the Panthers. He did, however, have an excellent game in Week 12 with a 118.5 rating. 29. Detroit Lions: -11.6 Bill Ford Jr. has been 'out of touch' with the Lions this season, working almost exclusively on running the fledgling Ford Motor Company. He can check in nine months from now when Kevin Smith will be back from his devastating injury. 30. St. Louis Rams: -12.7 Keith Null made his NFL debut on Sunday and recorded five interceptions, but he did have a 62.8 completion percentage. 31. Cleveland Browns: -15.9 Mike Holmgren, at this point, could be the only thing that preserves Brady Quinn's future in Cleveland. 32. Oakland Raiders: -16.5 JaMarcus Russell now has a chance to finish the season thanks to Bruce Gradkowski's knee injuries, but if his performance against Washington (six sacks, interception, fumble, 39 total yards of offense) is any measure, things still don't look good.